The Power of Partnerships

From the unprecedented $1.5 billion we invested last year in people and communities across the country, to our burgeoning collaborations with sectors ranging from tech and healthcare to sports and local government, the LISC 2018 Annual Report is chock full of good news, good numbers, and good ideas. These resources and strategies propel us on our journey to shape a brighter future for all our nation's residents. And that, in a nutshell, is the heart of LISC's mission. Read on!

Alongside NFL Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Steve Young, LISC has invested in a cutting-edge arena where Atlanta youth can face off for competitive eSports. Part of the Johnson STEM Activity Center, the venue offers a level playing field for young people from underinvested communities, where they'll develop strategic thinking, teamwork, coding and video design skills that can help prepare them for 21st-century careers in the tech world.

In just two years, the RVA League for Safer Streets, a basketball-plus-education program for young men from Richmond communities with high crime rates, has had an extraordinary peace-making impact in the lives of participants—and on the city at large. Founded by two formerly incarcerated Richmonders who bring to the table experience and insight wrought by decades behind bars, the League is dedicated to keeping people out of prison, and helping those who are returning to become successful members of their communities. The article that follows contains audio quotes from the League's founders about pivotal experiences in their lives in and outside of prison.

Winter may be hanging on longer than expected (in some parts of the country), but at LISC, the month of March has blossomed like never before. In the last three weeks, we raised $68 million—from longstanding donors such as State Farm and Wells Fargo, through new partnerships with ProMedica, Union Pacific and the San Francisco Foundation, and with expanded public resources from the CDFI Fund and the city of Washington, DC. We’ll invest it. We’ll leverage it. We’ll use it to lift up underinvested neighborhoods and develop the skills of talented people in our neighborhoods. There’s still much to do to foster economic opportunity in our communities and we are grateful for this support, which helps us do the job. What a month it’s been. And we've still got a week to go!

In this episode, Maurice reflects on LISC’s 20-year partnership with the NFL Foundation and highlights our work in the Twin Cities (home to the 2018 Super Bowl) together with special guest Andriana Abariotes, executive director of our office there.